Friday, January 29, 2010

These are my books that I'm reading at the moment. You'll find Stanislavski's "Building A Character" (doesn't hurt to read it again does it?) Edward Albee's "The Zoo Story", "How Meditation Works" (if you are interested in either Zoo Story or the Meditation .pdf document then send me a mail), a wonderful glossary of Shakespeare words that is a pure life safer that I'll use from now on starting with Julius Caesar. Finish it all up with "Existentialism, from Dostoevsky to Sartre". Philosophy is incredibly fascinating, I'm not going to pretend like I can sit down and have a conversation about philosophy all day long (except for the obvious question like "what's the point of life" "do we exist?" etc) but you got to start somewhere!

I'm still trying to find a meditation course somewhere around here. Oh and I got an email from RADA's summer school, I don't have the envelope yet but looks like I got in, nice isn't it? My two acting classes start next week as well, FINALLY.

I've been having some self-confidence issues lately wether I can do this profession or not for no good reason, not like something has happened or anything... just all in my head. Thats what you get for living inside your own head for 23h hours a day instead of keeping in touch with reality. *sigh*

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

I can't believe I haven't written about this before, what is wrong with me? This is one of the best things I have to go by regarding how to learn Shakespeare (at least for those of us who haven't gotten educated in it yet, but even so, I am sure even the "educated" ones can benefit from this)

John Barton's "Playing Shakespeare" is like a bible to me, it has helped me a lot when it comes to understanding and reading Shakespeare and I think that everyone who is interested should sit down and watch this. It's only one part out of nine, if you want to see the rest you can buy it online or download from your nearest torrent, I'd recommend buying it of course but yes it is THAT good, this is incredible and I've probably seen them all 2-3 times at least, just keep on repeating all of em'. I actually thought of uploading all nine part on YouTube but not sure if I would get in trouble for it.

I also found this amazing thing a day or two ago, which is actually the thing that made me realize "why the hell haven't I blogged about John Barton's Shakespeare?? What's wrong with me??" It's a director who directs PROPER Shakespeare plays (no conceptual, high brow, far fetched random shit) in New York, in a theater called Folding Chair Theater. Definitely check out his amazing guides/videos about Shakespeare as soon as you possibly can!

Monday, January 25, 2010

I've found Reddit not too long ago, and it's almost addicting. I love"IAMA" (I Am A...) and "Wikipedia" most I think. IAMA is a place wheredifferent kind of people advertise themselves like "IAMA UniversityTeacher i bla bla AMA (Ask me anything)" or ANYTHING you can imagineis probably there, its very fascinating to read these posts andglimpse into different peoples lives, and the Wikipedia section isjust people posting random amazing Wikipedia articles, addictive ifyou like me is a philosopher (Lover of wisdom). It's like CRACK

"Twenty it is: - Put 1tbsp of butter in a sauce pan on medium-low heat, add 1tbspflour to the melted butter, mix until you get a doughy consistency,and cook for a minute or two. Add 1cup of milk. Season lightly withpepper, parmesan, basil. Let it come to a boil, then immediatelysimmer it. It'll thicken up. You now have homemade Alfredo Sauce.Prepare to impress your friends, especially of the opposite sex.

- Get involved in the things going on around you, even if it's justyour schoolwork. Sitting in a dark room using a keyboard to talk topeople a million miles away is not a social life. Talk to the peopleat class, even if it's just about the upcoming test. Join a club orsomething. Intramural sports are awesome. Varsity are good too ifyou've got it in you.

- If it's meant to be, it'll happen. Don't rush it. It's nice to be afiercely passionate person in all walks of life, but it's a lot lessnice to be the guy who can't think ahead, or the girl who can't seethe forest for the trees.

- Slow and steady does not mean glacial. You're going to get spreadpretty thin in life if you're doing it right. Learn to cut your losseson a project that's not going anywhere rather than wasting fiveminutes every two months on it. Better to come back to it refreshed.

- Exercise really is important. We harp on it all the time, but ifyou seriously want to improve the way you FEEL about life: go to thegym. I come from a wrestling background, and Dan Gable is quoted assaying "Once you've wrestled, everything else in life is easy." Samething with working out. If you go to the gym and work yourself outHARD a few times a week, you will come home and everything else willseem to fall into place.

- They've all said it already, but it's got some truth to it.Disregard females. Acquire currency. It's nice to have someone who isa close friend. It's nice to have someone who will sleep with you. Donot make either a priority. If you treat people right and respectthem, they'll be there in a few years when you're ACTUALLY an adult,and you guys can start making plans. However, you don't want to go outthere wasting your time and money on somebody that's going to havegiant life decisions to make in a few years, one of which will be "Hasit gone as far as it's ever going to go?" Treat the opposite sex well,and feel free to spend time with them, but make it a fair deal, not aone-sided pursuit. Don't waste your time and money on them untilyou're ready to make a commitment to someone. (ps- At 20, you're notready.)

- Take every opportunity to travel. Broaden your horizons. See theworld. If you're lucky, and aren't digging yourself into student debt,go on foreign-aid jobs during vacation periods. If you're like therest of us, and need to make money, look into working abroad for a fewyears when you're done. Overseas experience is a HUGE boost on a jobapplication. Many countries offer "working vacation" visas.

- Always have fun. Work is hard. School is hard. Find somethingthat's fun and keep doing it, no matter what else is going on in yourlife. Make time for it, or use it as a reward, but keep having fun.When your life becomes all work and no play, you become one of thedrones helping to make this world a colder, more boring place.

- Control your vices. Fun is fun, but too much fun is exactly that:too much. I like a drink. I set aside time and money to partake. It'snot a lifelong commitment, but it's something I do to socialize withfriends. I do not, however, fall down drunk four days a week. No oneever should. Once a week is plenty.

- Milestones come and go. Woohoo! You're twenty! Big deal. You saidit already: "it doesn't feel much different at all." The same is truewith holidays, anniversaries and other celebrations. Too much stock islaid into arbitrary dates. Make every day count. Do things for areason, not for a season.

- The brands you wear are less important than the total package. Ifyou're concerned about the way you look, it's better to spend timelearning about Colour Theory than it is to figure out where you canfind a good deal on designerphones/mp3players/computers/pants/shirts/cars. Buy for build quality,not perceived quality. Buy to last.

- Your taste in <insert object> does not define who you are. You arenot a collection of songs, movies and TV Shows. Be proud of what youlike, but don't turn it into the definition of your personality (see:Goths, Trekkies, Metalheads.) Experience the multitude and be open toit all.

- "Be the change you want to see in the world." Gandhi was a wiseman, and this is probably the most important thing he ever said. Nomatter what you want from the world: be the exemplar rather than thefool crying for change. Lead by example, and preach from that example,but do not become the hypocrite who strives for a green planet whiletrashing his own house.

- Respect yourself. Far too often in life do we question ourinstincts and decisions. If you're faced with unquestionable evidencethat you've done something wrong, then accept it and move on. Untilthen, believe in who you are, and believe in what you do. You're rightmore often than you're wrong, even if you seem to be wrong an awfullot.

- Get shit done. Work to completion. Finish what you start. Doeverything within your power to make sure that the important things inlife happen on time and with minimal worry. Procrastination is both avaluable stress-relief tool and a dangerous enemy. Use it wisely.

- Learn the value of hard work. If you've never had a job: get one.ESPECIALLY if you don't need it. When I was twenty, this was one ofthe biggest lessons I had yet to learn. I still haven't learned thewhole of it. Learn exactly what a dollar is worth to people. Learn howmuch it takes to earn one, and learn how much you can buy with one.Learn the lessons that money can't buy you at school. Learnpunctuality and teamwork in a real environment.

- Set your goals and achieve them. Think about it now. Where do youwant to be when you're 25? 30? 40? Retired? Take some serious time andwrite out some serious goals for your personal life, your career, yourfame and renown. If you want to be the billionaire madman with a haremand your face on the nightly news: plan it out. If your goals are muchmore humble: plan them out too. Even if you just want a nice, simplejob with a wife and kids... start planning. Look at the road in frontof you, or you're going to finish school/whatever and be left with noidea where to go from here.

- It's okay to fail. Sometimes you are going to make the wrongdecision. Accept it. Move on with your life. No one's perfect, theyonly pretend to be. Learn from your mistakes, but don't be afraid tomake them. Someone's already said it above, but you learn more fromwhat you do than what you don't do, and when you're old and dry,you're going to regret more the things you shied away from than thethings you threw yourself into.

- Don't argue on the internet. There are exceptions to the rule. It'sone thing to make a strong argument. It's a whole other thing to bedragged into a drawn-out fight with an anonymous stranger. Avoid thelatter. It's a waste of valuable time and you're going to gain whatfrom it? Superiority? Be the better person to start with and walk awayfrom the fool that wants to waste his time arguing trivialities.

- Stop asking for advice on the internet. How much time have youspent, TODAY, watching this thread for updates? If you NEED advice,the internet is a great place to get diverse viewpoints. You didn'tNEED advice today, though. Go outside and play."

Monday, January 18, 2010

People might not know this, but I am a HUGE Ricky Gervais + Karl Pilkington + Steven Merchant fan. I have ALL of their podcasts, all the six seasons and even the early four seasons of XFM days, and I have even listened to all of those SEVERAL TIMES, not just once. Past two years I'd imagine I have listened to Ricky and the gang more then I have listened to music on my mp3 player.

I just had to officially let everyone know, and I'll leave you with this.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

I want to learn to play at least one instrument in the not so distant future, I can't decide wich one to go for though, I am thinking either a violin, a piano or a cello.

A friend made a good point that violin is an instrument that goes better with other instrument then alone, but with cello and piano you could play it solo so yeah, that might narrow it down the options.

Music is something that can't be explained with words, it just does something to a person doesn't it. For several years I've been in love with classical music, not ALL classical music but the ones I've found over the years, like Chopin, Cecilia Bartoli's "Sposa son disprezzata", too many soundtrack pieces which has violin and piano (and the alikes) to mention etc. I keep going through the imaginary motions of playing the piano with my fingers of the violin/cello with my hands and arms over and over again, of course completely wrong because I have no idea how to play for real but you get the gist.

Violin, cello or piano. I'll make my mind up sooner or later. Leaning towards the piano right now though.

Addendum: What about the trumpet? Is there anything more jazzy and suave/sexy then that? Maybe not. Anyone who has listened to Michael Bublé's "My Funny Valentine" from his album "With Love" knows what I'm on about.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

So I went to a reading/audition yesterday to for a play by George Tabori called "Mein Kampf" directed by the german director Christian Tietz. I got an email so I signed up and went to god knows where on the outskirts of somewhere and ended up in a dungeon basically.

There is a difference between amateur theater and AMATEUR theater innit? One is with a bunch of young hopefuls with brilliant ambition like me, and the other one is people who have fuck all to do and think "ah fuck it, i'll try some of this in my old age"... sadly this was the latter, fuck me. I was the youngest one there BY FAR, at 24 years young, I could've been these peoples grandson, no joke. Everyone was retired and I could smell someone cooking up a huge batch of onion soup in the room next door to feed everyone "just like when I was young" -_-.

Sadly this immediately halted my hopes of working further with this play because I didn't want to go through the hassle of someone having a heart attack in the middle of the play, which is sad because on the face of it, it seemed very cool. I play a 20-something year old hitler who tries to get into art school, fail, and decide to hop into politics (I bet those who were in charge of administration in that art school are kicking themselves now). And working with this nice german director (coincidence? I think not :))... At least I went and had a look and had a go, which is what counts because I knew that I would regret not going otherwise.

Uh this town is so dead, it's going to be a struggle and take a few years I'd imagine to get out of this place, get into acting school somewhere where I DON'T speak swedish (because speaking swedish for me is so boring, like pulling teeth, no feeling of film/acting in it). It's going to take a while... hopefully I don't hang myself until then.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

School starts tomorrow... *huge sigh* Can't I just do acting full time? Acting classes aint until February. Turns out I aint going to the ABF semi-full time acting course... don't have the moneys. Oh well, fingers crossed for RADA. STILL HAVEN'T GOT MY DAMN PAPER, STILL FUCKING WAITING.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

You guys are fucking lucky I am around you know that? Fucking fell on your feet when you found this blog you people.

I was chilling by the balcony with the door slightly slanted smoking a cigar and listening to Chekhov's "Swan Song", it's like 18 minutes long and it's so lovely, it's like me 50 years from now and you can find it and enjoy the hell out of it on the closest torrent tracker near you.

But I actually made this blog entry to let you know about Charlie Kaufman's radio theater with Meryl Streep among others, check the youtube description for the full cast and other details but this thing is brilliant. Skip the first two videos in the playlist, it's another radio theater but it's only two parts out of 12. So listen to Hope Leaves The Theater :)

Update: Having listened to "Sawbones" now too, it turns out it was really just two parts long rather then what I thought 12, because my .mp3 from Charlie Kaufman's homepage was 1h 20min long, but I didn't know it was Sawbones + Hope Leaves The Theater together :). So enjoy em' again.

Monday, January 4, 2010

I am a bit confused and surprised. While going through some archives from my site I didn't find a SINGLE POST about Charlie Kaufman's masterpiece "Synecdoche, New York". Now I am sure I have mentioned this amazing film more then once, and I am more then sure I posted the most beautiful song from said film called "Little Person", but I can't find it no matter what, which leads me to believe that said post has been deleted in some mysterious fashion, what the fuck?

Anywho, still scratching my head about this, but still moving on. The film that is the most underrated film in the decade, and I say this because it was GROSSLY overlooked by the academy people, hence why I hence forth don't give a crap about them ^_^

A shower of Oscar statues should've rained upon this film the second it came out, but nay, people who are like fucking cave people can't see genius when it's taking a piss on their heads as it turns out.

It has (just like oldboy and all the others) a brilliant soundtrack that is a MUST for me to convey a mood, feeling etc and it's MANDATORY for me... it's probably largely due to me growing up with video games that always had a brilliant soundtrack to them that set the tone for me for the rest of my life (Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, Diablo, Stracraft, Grim Fandango, Max payne etc). The plot of the film is of course great, just read this;

"A theater director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a lite-sized replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play."

I mean, how can it NOT be good right? Philip Seymour Hoffman is brilliant as usual, definitely one of my favorite actors, and Charlie Kaufman's directing and screenplay is as usual as good as they come out of Hollywood nowdays, *tip of the hat*. There aren't many people I dream of to especially working with but Charlie Kaufman is one of them that I dream and hope I'll meet. Even if he said he got a role where I play a raging rapist homosexual I'd do it in a heartbeat... famous last words -_-.

I'll leave you with a favorite song of mine that happens to be out of this film and the trailer. GO AND BUY THE DVD OR FUCK OFF OUT OF MY BLOG.

Trailer,

"Synecdoche, New York - Little Person", I might've shed a few tears as the curtains fell and this tune rolled up, but let's leave that where it belongs.

Last time around I gave you 'Moliere', and here is another classic that I really like, Svengali from 1931 with legendary John Barrymore. You'll also see John Barrymore perform Henry VI, Part III which is just truly epic, I hope you folks enjoy them because you won't see this stuff usually.

Who rocks this blog

Leon Lynch, down to earth, love sailing, acting, photography and books! I should travel a lot more than I do.
I got more luck then I can shake a stick at, don't know why.
Got any questions? Email me at lleonlynch(at)gmail(dot)com